Red alarm level: Infection numbers in Saxony rise rapidly!

Red alarm level: Infection numbers in Saxony rise rapidly!

The number of infections with serious illnesses in Saxony has a worrying increase. According to current reports, the number of tuberculosis cases in particular increases, which is on alert. Saxony's Minister of Health has announced that it is actively working for more vaccinations and immunizations in order to counteract these trends. The background is the latest data that show that the number of cases in tuberculosis, hepatitis and TBE have risen sharply since 2020. According to the information from the Ministry of Health, the infections with hepatitis and TBE have even doubled, while the tuberculosis cases have increased by around 50 percent, with a recent outbreak in Dresden causing additional concern.

The health politician Susanne Schaper from the left emphasized in this context that the above could not record the diseases that have not been decreased, but had to observe a constant increase in increasing tendency. In addition to tuberculosis, infectious diseases such as shingles and Lyme disease are also among the worrying developments in Saxony. At Gürtelrose, an increase of 13 percent was determined, while the Borreliosis cases decreased by around ten percent.

overview of tuberculosis and its distribution

As the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) shows in detail in its current guide to tuberculosis, tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by aerobic, immobile bacteria of the Mycobacteriacae family. The main cause is the bacterium M. tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is one of the most common causes of death among infectious diseases, especially in low resources. Around 10.6 million people develop worldwide every year, with around 1.3 million dying from the disease. In comparison, Germany has a low incidence that has been consistently below 10 per 100,000 since 2001. There are currently approximately 4.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The latest RKI report also shows that the registered tuberculosis cases rose to 4,481 in 2023-an increase of 10.4 percent compared to the previous year.

Risk factors for the disease are close contacts with infectious patients: inside, insufficiently treated earlier tuberculosis, as well as other health factors such as HIV, smoking and malnutrition. A remarkable fact is that children under the age of 10 in particular are less infectious, but they are not immune to the disease, so screenings and preventive measures are important.

prevention and treatment

The therapy of tuberculosis is carried out by a combination of medication, with standard therapies ISONIAZID, Rifampicin, Ethambutol and Pyrazinamide. In the event of resistance, special medical care is required. The RKI has emphasized that the quick discovery and isolation of infectious people, together with comprehensive screening programs for contact persons, represent essential preventive measures. Although BCG vaccination is no longer recommended in Germany, the topic of prevention and education remains crucial in order to curb the spread of tuberculosis.

With these alarming numbers for tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, it is of central importance for the Saxon population, on prevention and vaccinations. Current developments require closer cooperation between health ministries, specialists and the public to combat the spread of these serious illnesses.

Further information about tuberculosis and its control can be called up in the RKI guide, which regularly offers updated information in order to provide the professional world and the interested public the necessary knowledge. The current reports on the epidemiology of tuberculosis in Germany can also be viewed on the RKI website.

For detailed information, please visit the following pages: sächsische.de , rki href = "https://www.rki.de/de/themen/infektekstärzen/infekteksäben-az/t/tuberkulose/archiv_bericht_tb_dtl_tml"> rki-tuberkulose archive